Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 09:07:49 -0500
From: Jeff Allen <jeff_allen15@hotmail.com>
Subject: "Love of a Lifetime" Part 30

This is a fictional story dealing with love and consensual sexual
activities between males.  If you are not of legal age, reside in an area
where viewing such material is illegal, or are offended by homosexuality
and/or homosexual themes, leave this site now.

The author retains all rights to this story.  No reproductions or links to
other sites are allowed without the permission of the author.

Note: I owe a special thanks to Robb for doing the final proofreading and
catching all those silly little errors that I missed.

LOVE OF A LIFETIME


PART 30

     Andy slept late that next morning.  Larsen and I had taken a short jog
down the road, eaten breakfast, and I'd taken my shower before he made any
move to get out of bed.  I'd never seen him sleep that much.

     I sat him down in one of the kitchen chairs and set a fresh cup of
coffee in front of him.  I stood behind him and gently massaged his
shoulders as he sipped the coffee.

     "Andy, what's going on?  You looked exhausted last night."

     "Sit down, C.Z.  We need to have a talk."

     I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down across the table from
him.  Andy proceeded to fill me in on all the problems that had been going
on as a result of the merger between the two banks.  They ran the scale
from problems with software compatibility and slightly different accounting
methods to basic differences in management philosophy between the top
executives of the two parts of the merged bank.  Andy was finally making
some headway at his branch dealing with the hostility and resentment some
of the employees had shown to him when he first got there, but it was still
an uphill struggle every day.  He was ready to quit and go back to school
to get his MBA.

     I tried to be rational and adult about the discussion asking him the
logical questions like, "Will you be able to make it financially if you
quit to go back to school?" and "Have you tried talking with some of the
other branch managers about the problems with upper management?", but deep
inside I was as happy as I could be.  Selfishly, I wanted Andy back with
me.  The sooner, the better!

     Andy complained that the Chicago management group seemed to think that
the branch managers were at their beck and call twenty-four seven.  He had
stopped going to the gym because he couldn't manage to get away from the
bank until eight or nine in the evening.

     We talked until lunch time.  I fixed some sandwiches as Andy went in,
took his shower, and shaved.  After lunch we took a blanket out onto the
deck and laid down to enjoy the sunshine.  We laid side by side for a while
before I started gently running my fingers along his arm to his shoulder
and then down his back.

     He moaned low in his throat.  "I'll give you an hour or so to stop
that."

     "I intend to keep this going all week."

     "You have to sleep and eat sometime."

     "This is what I'm hungry for."

     He rolled on his side to face me.  "Me too."

     We kissed gently at first but then with rising passion.  He moved
around so we were in a 69 position and began undoing the buttons on my
shorts.  I took the hint and unzipped his jeans.  Andy reached in and
pulled my hardening cock out of my briefs and started licking and sucking
like a wild man.  I reciprocated as soon as I had his erection freed from
the confines of his underwear.  It didn't take long before both of us
blasted our thick loads down the other's throat.

     I released his softening pole, licked the last drop of cum from the
opening at the head, twisted my body around, and kissed him deeply.

     "Do you want to get naked here or in the bed?"

     "Let's go into the bed.  You might get a sunburn on your ass out
here."

     We got up and moved the action into the bedroom.  Both of us began
shedding clothes as soon as we got into the cabin.  We were both naked by
the time we got to the bed.  We stayed in bed the rest of the day.

                       **********

     The rest of the week was magical.  We worked around the cabin getting
things in shape for the coming fall and winter.  We drove around Carter
County enjoying the cool mountain days.  We planted some fall mums on my
mother's grave.  We jogged daily with Larsen.  We ate.  We slept.  We made
love...often.

     Too soon it was Sunday afternoon, and I had to take Andy to the
airport in Asheville to catch his flight to Chicago.  During the course of
the week, we'd had a number of conversations on what Andy would do in the
future.  He was determined to leave the bank and start an MBA program.
We'd taken a hard look at our financial situation and had decided that he
really needed to work for the bank for another year.  Then he would start
his MBA program at Adams State at the start of my senior year.  The MBA was
a two semester and one summer long program, so that way he would be ready
to look for another job using his new degree where ever I was accepted into
medical school (if I was accepted).  Both of us were comfortable with that
decision.  It meant another year of separation, but that would still get us
back living together one year earlier than waiting until I graduated.

     I was a happy camper driving back to school after seeing Andy off at
the airport.

                       **********

     The light was blinking on the answering machine back in the apartment.
The first was a message from Justin telling me that he and Megan would be
arriving from the coast late that evening and that Megan would be staying
with us for a couple of days before moving back into her old apartment.
The second was from Jason telling me that things had gone well with his
roommates when he'd told them he was gay.  He wanted to get together for
dinner that evening to tell me all about it.  The third message was from
Brian who laughingly told me that my party at Doc's was to blame for the
start of two new relationships...Brian with Sergei and Stephen with Mike.
The four of them were all going to try to live in the apartment that Brian
and Stephen had rented for the year.

     I was still chuckling to myself about Brian's news when I called
Jason's number.  He was glad to have me back in town, and said he had a lot
to talk over with me.  Because of the late hour and the fact that both of
us had team practices the next morning, we opted to grab a quick meal at
the local golden arches.

     Cory, the same good looking kid who had waited on us the previous
week, was behind the counter, and Jason flirted shamelessly with him again.
This time the kid didn't seem as embarrassed as before by the attention.
In fact, he seemed to enjoy it.

     When we got to the table, I leaned toward Jason and said, "Looks like
you've made some progress with the kid behind the counter.  What did you
do, eat every dinner here last week?"

     Jason blushed deeply giving me the answer.

     When I stopped laughing, I said, "You have to find a way to meet him,
Jase.  You can't live on quarter pounders and fries all the time.  It's not
a balanced diet, man."

     "I know, but I can't figure out how to approach him.  I only see him
here, and I can't say anything because there are other people around every
time."

     "You'd better think of something soon, fella, or else your cholesterol
level is gonna be sky high."

     Over our burgers and fries Jason told me that two of his three
roommates had been really cool about the idea of having a gay roommate.
The third guy, Roger Hall, was more reserved, but not outright hostile.
Roger had agreed to continue having Jason as a roommate, and Jason told me
that Roger seemed to be getting more relaxed when he and Jason were in the
apartment together.

     I asked if there had been any problems on the football team.

     "Not really.  Two of my roommates, including Roger, the guy who wasn't
real happy when I came out, are on the team, but I don't think they've told
any one.  Brad Miller's made some of his homo-hating comments, but Brad
does that with everyone so I don't think anyone's paid much attention to
him.  Coach Stevenson has asked a couple of times about how I'm getting
along.  That's nice, and that job he arranged for me will be a lifesaver.
I've almost gone through my savings account paying my share of the rent and
stuff."

     "Eating here every night so you can flirt with Cory isn't the way to
save money."

     He blushed again.  "Come on.  I've got to have some dreams."

                       **********

     Justin and Megan arrived at the apartment around eleven that night.
It was great to see them again.  I'd missed both of them terribly over the
summer.  Of course I'd seen Justin the weekend before out at Doc's, but
there had been so many people around I hadn't really had a time to sit down
and find out about his summer.

     I think Larsen was as delighted to have them back as I was.  In fact
he tried to get into their room that night to go to sleep.  We'd all gone
to bed, and I was about half asleep.  I heard Larsen get up from the foot
of my bed and go out of the room.  I thought he might need to go outside
again so I got out of bed and walked into the living room in time to see a
naked Justin shooing Larsen out of his bedroom.

     It was obvious that Larsen had interrupted something as Justin's dick
was standing straight up against his belly, and his foreskin was pulled all
the way back off the head of his dick.  He saw me, smiled, gave me a wink,
and disappeared back into his room.  I heard the door close and latch.
Head down, Larsen came back into my room and settled into his doggie bed.

                       **********

     The next two weeks were a blur of practices for us.  It always seems
that no matter how much I try to stay in shape over the summer, the first
week or so of track practice causes my muscles to protest vigorously.
Megan cooked dinner every night.  Man, it was wonderful to come home from
afternoon practice to a full meal.  If Justin and I had been by ourselves,
we would have fallen into the routine of fixing whatever was quickest and
easiest, especially during the preseason practices.

                       **********

     The weekend before the start of classes Doc and Matt had me out to
their place for dinner.  Mark and Jamal were up from Durham for the
weekend.  We had a great meal and then all retired to the hot tub with some
wine.

     Before dinner Jamal had told me that an old football teammate buddy of
his and Matt's was going to be coming out later in the evening and bringing
his new boyfriend along so I wasn't surprised when a Ford Explorer pulled
into the drive.

     "That must be Dee and his friend.  I'll go bring them out here," Jamal
said as he swung his legs up and over the side of the hot tub.  He wrapped
a towel around his waist and headed around the deck to the garage side of
the house.

     Matt placed his hand on my shoulder.  "You'll have to pretend that
you're over twenty-one tonight, C.Z.  Dee was a criminal justice major when
he was here.  He graduated a year ahead of Jamal and me and went to work in
law enforcement.  He might be a little sensitive to the idea of underage
drinking."

     "Okay."

     I heard Jamal's voice leading the new guests out to the hot tub.  When
they rounded the corner of the house and came on to the deck, I did a
double take.

     Jamal led the new guys over to the side of the tub.  "Dee, you know
every one here except for C.Z."

     "Oh, we both know C.Z.  Don't we, babe."  With that State Trooper
DeShaun "Dee" McMillan put a protective arm around the shoulder of Campus
Security Officer Ron Kestler and pulled him close.

     Ron started laughing.  "I think C.Z.'s a little shocked."

     As I recovered from my surprise, Dee introduced Ron to Mark, Matt, and
Doc.  Jamal poured some wine for the new comers as they stripped off their
clothes and joined us in the hot tub.

     I had always thought that Trooper McMillan looked good in his uniform,
but he looked even better out of it.  Dee was a muscular 220 or so pounds
spread magnificently over his 6' 3" frame.  His milk chocolate skin was
flawless over his entire body.  His nipples stood out on his squarish pecs
as dark brown quarter- sized circles.  His flaccid cut 7 inch cock was
surrounded by a thick black, wiry brush of pubic hair and rode on top of
the largest and lowest hanging pair of balls I'd ever seen.  This guy was
hot and built!

     I turned to Ron.  "When did this happen with you and Trooper
McMillan...I mean Dee?"

     "Well, I'd made an appointment to talk with him about the gay
bashings.  Remember, I told you about that.  Anyway, we met at a restaurant
one evening when we were both off duty.  Something just clicked between us.
After we'd talked for a while, Dee asked me why I was so interested in
trying to solve the gay bashings.  I looked in those big brown eyes,
swallowed hard, and told him that part of the reason I wanted them solved
was because I was gay myself.  He just sort of smiled at me and said he
thought we needed to continue the conversation back at his apartment after
dinner.  We just talked that night, but the next night was something else.
Fireworks and candle light all at once.  We've seen each other almost every
day since then.  My folks are starting to wonder why I'm gone all the time.
I'm going to have to introduce them to Dee pretty soon."

     He settled his body against the larger bulk of DeShaun.  They
exchanged looks, and it was obvious that they were really 'in' to one
another.

                       **********

     Justin and I didn't have the same schedules that semester for the
first time since freshman year.  We did have biochemistry and Doc's
advanced biology class together along with Mike Hernandez, but Justin had
decided to take some elective courses in the College of Business while I
was taking another music course and an elective history course.  Since I
was still working as Doc's research assistant, I didn't have to work in the
cafeteria washing dishes in the morning.  I still got up early, but now I
was able to read the newspaper or study for a while before starting the
day.  My schedule seemed much less hectic than before.  Those mornings when
Justin was in his bedroom, I still got him up and we took our shower and
shaved together.  If Megan had stayed over, she usually had some coffee
while we were using the bathroom and then used the bathroom to get herself
ready while Justin and I headed out the door.

                       **********

     We'd only been in classes a couple of weeks when the long Labor Day
Weekend rolled around.  Since the public schools had Labor Day off as well,
the Williamses decided to take a short family trip.  Justin and Megan were
heading down to Wilmington to spend the weekend with her family.  Brian,
Sergei, Stephen and Mike were going down to the Barnes' cottage at Sunset
Beach.  They invited me to go along, but I declined.  They were all new in
their relationships, and I didn't want to be a fifth wheel during the
weekend.  The football team was playing away that weekend so Jason was
going to be gone until very late Saturday night.  We made arrangements to
get together on Sunday to pal around together.

     The weather turned cold and rainy on Friday as everyone was trying to
leave town.  It was a really wicked cold front.  The temperature dropped
from the mid seventies to the low fifties in just a couple of hours.  We
had some violent thunderstorms that night, and the next morning it felt
like mid November instead of early September.

     Larsen and I took a long run in the morning.  The cold and rain didn't
seem to bother the dog, but I felt chilled to the bone.  After a long hot
shower I curled up on the couch with Larsen and worked on some of the
readings for my classes.

     It was still raining at dinner time.  I didn't feel like cooking
anything so Larsen and I braved the weather to go to the drive through
window at the golden arches.  I looked, but didn't see Cory, Jason's
fantasy boyfriend, working behind the counter.  I'd been in the place
enough times with Jason that Cory was beginning to give me a shy smile as
well.

     We took the meal back to the apartment.  Larsen jumped out of the door
as soon as I opened it and headed toward the steps up to the apartment, but
he got sidetracked and started sniffing around one of the garage doors.  I
figured some animal had left a "calling card" that Larsen would have to
check out so I hurried on up to the apartment.

     I started in on the burger and fries.  Larsen still hadn't barked at
the door so I went over to see what was holding him up.  He was still
sniffing around at the garage door and pawing at it like he wanted to get
in.  The rain had stopped momentarily so I went back down the stairs to try
to drag Larsen away.

     He resisted my efforts to pull him away from the door.  I decided that
some small animal like a raccoon or something must have gotten into the
garage.  I needed to get it out of the garage before it did any damage.  I
lifted the garage door, and Larsen charged in barking and growling.

     I expected a raccoon or opossum to come charging out the door, but
instead I heard a frightened human voice cry out, "No! No! Go away!"

     I ducked into the garage and flipped on the light switch.  Larsen had
a figure cornered at the back of the garage.

     "Larsen, get down!  Back off!"

     Larsen sat down in front of the cowering figure.

     I moved closer.  It was Cory from McDonald's, and it looked like he
was soaking wet!

     "Cory?"

     He recognized me when I spoke.  "Please call off your dog.  I wasn't
going to take anything.  I just wanted to get out of the rain."

     I walked over to him.  His hair was plastered down on his head.  His
clothes were dripping water on the garage floor.  There was a large book
bag or back pack beside him, and it looked just as water logged as he was.

     "What are you doing here?"

     "Please let me stay.  I just needed to get out of the rain.  I
couldn't find any place to go.  It didn't look like any one was home in the
house or the apartment above here, so I thought I might be able to spend
the night in here."

     "Don't you have a place to go to?"

     "No."  He looked down at the floor.  "I was kicked out of my house.
I've been staying in different buildings on campus, but they're all locked
up this weekend.  I couldn't get in to any of them.  I got wet and then
cold so I was just looking for some place to get out of the rain.  If you
let me stay here, I won't hurt anything, and I'll be gone in the morning.
I promise."

     "Cory, you can't stay down here.  Come on up stairs where it's dry and
warm."  I moved toward the door.

     Larsen must have figured out that Cory was okay because he moved
forward, tail wagging, and gave Cory's hand a big lick.  Cory was surprised
and quickly drew his hand away, but then he realized that Larsen was trying
to be friendly so he reached down and gave him a pat on the head.  Larsen's
tail wagged even faster.

     "Thanks.  Your dog really scared me at first."

     "His name is Larsen, and he's a big pushover."  I came back toward
Cory and stuck out my hand.  "I'm C.Z. Johnstone."

     He took my hand.  His hands were as cold as ice.  "Cory Jacobs.  I've
seen you at the McDonald's."

     "Yeah, I recognized you.  Come on upstairs."

     Cory picked up his large, wet back pack and followed me up to the
apartment.  Upstairs, he checked through his pack.  It looked like he had a
couple of changes of clothes, some toilet articles, and two McDonald's
uniforms in there.  Everything was soaked.

     I rummaged around in my dresser and found some underwear, socks, sweat
pants and a sweatshirt for him to wear.  I handed him all the clothes and
pointed him to the bathroom for a shower.

     "Take a shower and get warm.  These clothes are going to be a little
big for you, but it's all I've got.  We'll get your things dried.  Have you
had dinner?"

     "No.  I had a burger for lunch at work."

     "Okay.  I'll order a pizza for us.  Is that okay?"

     He smiled for the first time.  The smile changed his whole face.
"That would be great.  I've got some money.  I'll help pay for it."

     He disappeared into the bathroom.  I removed the meat from my now cold
burger and gave it to Larsen before tossing the bun and cold fries into the
trash.  I called Antonio's for a pizza.

     When Cory emerged from the bathroom, he looked like a different kid.
My clothes were several sizes too big for him.  I'm 5' 11" and 175 pounds.
Cory stood about 5' 8" and couldn't have been any more than 130 pounds.  He
had the legs and sleeves of the sweats rolled up a couple of inches so they
didn't drag on the ground or extend past his hands.

     I took his wet things over to the Williamses and stuck them in their
drier.  Since the town was mostly empty for the long weekend, the pizza
arrived in less than half an hour.  Cory insisted on paying for the pizza.
I let him.  I offered him a beer to go with the pizza, but he settled for a
coke.

     "Cory, why are you out on the streets?  Where's your home, man?  How
old are you?"

     He paused in eating.  "I'm 18.  I graduated from high school in June.
I...I don't have a home anymore.  I used to live in Greensboro.  My Stepdad
kicked me out of the house in July.  I hitch hiked up here after spending a
couple of nights on the streets in Greensboro.  I got a job right away at
McDonald's, but I haven't been able to save enough money to get a place to
stay.  I've been sleeping in the buildings on campus and taking showers in
the gym.  I was always able to find an open door, but today everything was
locked down tight."

     "Why'd your stepdad kick you out?"

     He looked down at the table.  I could see tears starting to form in
his eyes.

     I thought of the way I'd seen him react to Jason's teasing and
flirting.  "Cory, it's okay.  If I want you to be honest with me, I need to
be completely honest with you.  Especially if you're going to stay here
tonight.  I'm gay."

     He looked up.  The tears were running down his cheeks.  He wiped at
them with the rolled up sleeve of my sweat shirt.  "You're gay?"

     "Yes.  Now why did your stepfather kick you out?"

     He looked down again.  "Because I'm gay."

     "I thought that might be it.  Listen, it's okay to be gay.  You don't
have any choice in the matter.  That's the way God made you.  Why didn't
you stay in Greensboro?  Don't you have some friends there?"

     "I was too ashamed.  I got arrested in the park.  Me and some friends
were in the park playing frisbee.  I needed to use the bathroom.  There was
this guy standing at the urinal with his pants unzipped and his dick out,
but he wasn't peeing.  He was just standing there with it hanging out.  I
couldn't help it.  I looked at him.  He moved closer and kind of shook it
at me.  I thought he wanted me to touch it so I did.  The guy pulled out a
badge, told me he was a cop, and arrested me.  They took me down to the
police station and booked me.  My mom had to come bail me out.

     "When we got home, my stepdad started hitting and punching me and told
me to get out of his house.  I was so ashamed.  My friends at the park saw
me being taken away in the police car.  I just couldn't call any of them
and ask them to help.  I figured they'd hate me for being queer.  I spent
two nights on the streets and slept in the park.  The second night some old
drunk tried to get me to suck his cock.  It scared me.  I figured a small
town like Adams would be safer so the next day I hitched a couple of rides
to get up here.  When I got the job, I thought I'd have enough money for
rent in a little while, but every place I've looked at wants a security
deposit plus the first and last months' rent, and I just don't have that
kind of money yet.

     "I would never have thought that you're gay.  I've seen you at
McDonald's with that other guy, the one who talks to me all the time.  He's
really good looking."

     "Yeah, Jason's a friend of mine."

     "Is that his name, Jason?  Are...are you guys like...you know?"

     "You mean, are we a couple?  No.  Jason's just a friend.  We were
roommates for a while during our freshman year.  I'm involved with a guy
named Andy Hatcher.  Andy lives in Chicago right now, but he's going to
move back down here next summer.  We've been partners for almost four years
now."

     "Wow!  That's neat.  I would never have thought you're gay.  You look
so normal."

     I laughed.  "I don't know what normal is, Cory.  If you mean that I
don't have any obvious 'gay' mannerisms, there're lots of gay guys who
never look the part."

     "Do you live here by yourself?"

     "No.  I have a roommate.  His name's Justin Barnes.  He's my best
friend.  He's the brother I never had.  He and his girlfriend are down
visiting her parents for the weekend."

     "He's not gay?"

     "No.  He's probably the straightest guy you'll ever meet.  He knows
I'm gay, and two of his brothers are gay so he doesn't have any problem
with homosexuality."

     "That's cool!  I thought everyone hated gays."

     "No.  I don't think most people truly hate homosexuals.  They just
don't understand us, and that lack of understanding sometimes makes people
fearful.  The problem is that a lot of folks are not willing to try to get
around their fear and lack of understanding."

     "Yeah.  I guess that's my stepdad."

     "It's getting late.  I'm ready for bed.  You can sleep in Justin's
room tonight.  We'll figure out what to do after that when we get up in the
morning."

     "C.Z., thanks for taking me in.  I guess I was lucky when I picked
your garage tonight."

     "You're welcome.  Now let's get to bed.  I'm tired."

     Larsen and I retreated to our room.  I heard Larsen get up after a few
minutes and check to see if he might be able to get in bed with Cory, but
Cory's door must have been closed or he'd refused to let the dog up on the
bed because he returned to his own dog bed in a couple of minutes.

     Before I drifted off to sleep I was wondering what I was going to do
with an eighteen-year-old runaway and what Justin and Megan were going to
say when they got back in town and found Cory here.

(To be continued)